Heir of Magic
by CrystalIceSweet
Summary: No one can understand why golden boy Tom Riddle would be interested in a loser like Harry. Normally Harry would be more worried about Tom's intentions but the other boy's courtship offer plays perfectly in to his plans of one upping his sister. Slash. TMRHP. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary**: No one can understand why golden boy Tom Riddle would be interested in a loser like Harry. Normally Harry would be more worried about Tom's intentions but the other boy's courtship offer plays perfectly in to his plans of one upping his sister. Slash. TMRHP. AU.

* * *

**1.**

* * *

****  
"No," Hermione said firmly because she's a terrible, terrible friend and Harry should really stop giving her gifts and treating her to the kitchens if this is the kind of reward he gets.

"Why?" Harry whined, doing his best to show her his puppy dog face - the one where he goes all out and only pulls out on special occasions such as this. However, Hermione doesn't even blink. And like Harry had said, she was a terrible best friend and he should upgrade to someone more susceptible to his charms once he stops loving her so much.

"Because," she started, her tone deliberately slow as if she was talking to an especially retarded child, "This is a stupid idea and as the intelligent and mature young woman I am, I refuse to participate in something so fundamentally morally wrong!"

Sometimes, especially in moments like this, Harry really regretted encouraging Hermione to get a backbone; he mourned the days she would nod her head to everything he says in fear of him leaving her. Back then, Harry could convince the girl to do everything he wanted, even if it was a little bit sketchy on the ethical side of things.

"It's not morally wrong," Harry protested, arm crossed, "I'm sure there are lots of people who have done it before."

"And yet that does not make it ok," Hermione sighed, put down her book and turned her attention entirely on Harry. She had an expression on her face that Harry dubbed "Disapproving Look Number 4", this one always to be followed by a lecture of some kind. He wasn't disappointed when the girl open her mouth and continued: "You are suggesting seducing someone not because you are interested but because you want to one up your sister who is also interested in said person. Barring the fact that playing with one's emotions is the purest form of douchebaggery, this is also Tom Riddle we are talking about. You know? Hogwarts golden boy, top student of his year, most eligible bachelor in the country and one of the strongest magic users of his generation? If he ever agrees - which is extremely unlikely since he has never accepted an invitation in his whole academic career - and finds out later that you played him, no one is going to be in your corner and I really don't think you can even hope to win a potential duel if one ever comes to be."

Harry opened his mouth, closed it and opened it again.

"Wow, thanks Hermione," he said sarcastically, "I never knew you thought so highly of me."

Hermione didn't even have the sense to look ashamed. She simply shrugged and give him a pitying look - this one always followed by a pat on the head.

"Don't touch my hair," Harry hissed as she reached out a hand predictably, and Hermione just snorted, not at all intimated by his bad mood.

Harry really, really needed better friends.

* * *

This whole mess started on the evening of the tradition annual feast. But before we go in to it, one has to first understand the history between the Potter siblings.

No one can really pinpoint the exact moment the Potter siblings, Lily Rose and her younger brother Harry, stopped getting along with each other. Some might say, namely Sirius, that it was around the period Rose finally entered puberty and grew in to herself and stopped looking like the bastard child of a pig and a pug. Remus had a more sensible theory; he believed that entering teenage years, the two years difference between Rose and Harry had finally caught up with them. With Rose excelling at everything she does and gaining admirers left and right and Harry struggling with his coursework and embarrassing himself left and right (according to Sirius), their once companionship just fell apart.

Rose, who was 2 years older than Harry, barely spoke a word to him and Harry became obsessed with idea of one upping his sister and was always on the lookout for Roses weaknesses. And that was how he saw the way Rose was looking at Tom Riddle, sighing dreamingly and giggling with her best friend. Harry knew Rose enough to know that this crush of hers was already pretty deep. If someone came along and snatched Tom under her very nose, she would be devastated, especially if that person was someone she looked down on.

And that was how the master plan was born.

* * *

"She's staring at you again," Abraxas Malfoy, cousin to Lucius Malfoy, said as he glared in the general direction of the Gryffindor table. And true to his word, Rose Potter sat a little on the right side, looking over at Tom with a love struck expression. Abraxas resisted the urge to sneer.

"It's just a crush," Alphard Black commented, "Stop being so hard on the girl. It's not her fault our Tom is so irresistible."

The boy in question barely looked up at the mention of his name, preferring to continue his breakfast of oatmeal and fruit.

Abraxas and Alphard continued their conversation despite his lack of interest.

"But seriously, it's disgusting," Abraxas huffed, "she's a Potter for Merlin's sake and yet she refuses to show even the smallest hint of decorum that befits her house. It must be her muggle born mother's influence. Charlus Potter would be rolling in his grave if he knew what had become of his family."

"The girl is barely 18," Black said in exasperation, "Cut her some slack. At least she's doing better than her good for nothing brother of hers. What was his name? Harold or something. It's a pity really; the heir of such a noble house barely able to do a 2nd year spell at 16; now that is a scandal if I ever heard one."

Abraxas huffed in annoyance and turned back to Tom.

"What do you think Tom?" He asked.

"About Harry?"

The horrified look he received in return almost made him laugh...almost because he was Head Boy and bursting out in laughter wouldn't do for his image.

"You...you. Oh Merlin, Tom, I know that tone. Don't tell me you're interested in that...that squib."

"I am," Tom admitted, finally looking away from his food and towards the Ravenclaw table where Harry James Potter, Rose's Potter little brother, sat with his muggle born friend. As per usual, they were deep in some kind of conversation and was oblivious to the word around them.

"Why..." Abraxas lamented, "Out of all the people in this school, why him? Didn't you say that you would only be interested in someone if they can prove to be your equal? I doubt Potter can ever aspire to that. Even his sister is better!"

"No," Tom said resolutely, looking away from the boy to look at the Malfoy, "I believe that Harry Potter isn't all that he seems. No children of the Potter family can be this weak without supernatural interference. And don't say something about muggle born blood tainting his magic. You as well as I know that squibs are the result of too much inbreeding between purebloods. The Potters had never, never produced a squib in this entire line. Every one of their children are strong and talented. I believe that Harry Potter has a hidden potential and I want to be the one to unlock it."

Silence followed his statement, only to be broken by Alphard as he sighed.

"But why wait until now? Why not start earlier?"

"Because he just turned 16," Tom replied, "and is this old enough to enter in an official courtship."

Abraxas choked while Black wasn't doing any better.

"Courtship? Are you out of your mind?"

"No," Tom replied simply, "I have been thinking of this for a long time. I believe this is the best course of action."

"Why?" Abraxas asked, all seriousness, "I don't believe the reason you gave is the entire story. I have never seen you act this way. Why Tom?"

Tom debated for a second whether to admit the true reason or not. Finally, he sighed, threw up a privacy shield before saying in a low voice.

"I'll tell you but you have to swear not to tell anyone else."

Abraxas and Alphard's eyes widened but the both nodded.

"Ok, no one knows this but a few month back, I went to Dumbledore's office and over heard him play a prophecy, foretelling the awakening of the Heir of magic."

"No bloody way," the both gasped at the same time, decorum be damned.

"I won't tell you the details," Tom continued, knowing that what he was about to say next will shock them even more, "but after month of research and observation, I am finally convinced that Harry Potter is the young wizard the prophecy is talking about."

"If that's true," Alphard said, not even questioning Tom's research methods, "then whoever is bonded to him before his coming of age will also get a huge boost of power."

"Not to mention immortality," Abraxas hissed, now looking at Harry with brand new eyes, "Everyone knows that the Heir of magic will be granted immortality and power over all magical creatures. Everything or person on this planet in sync with magic will have to obey him. This...this is huge!"

"Yes it is," Tom smirked, "And no one knows the treasure right in front of them. Even Dumbledore has no idea who it could be despite possession the prophecy."

"But what if you are wrong and he's not the heir?" Abraxas asked dubiously.

Toms smile turned wicked.

"Really now," he purred, enjoying the shiver he caused, "have I ever been wrong before?"

"No," both boys admitted at the same time because for as long as they knew Tom, the Slytherin Heir's prediction always seem to come true. "Alright. We'll help as much as we can. But I really hope you know what you are doing."

"Oh I do. Don't worry."

His gaze turned to the Ravenclaw table once more, an almost excited smirk gracing his face.

_Harry James Potter, you have no idea what you are in for._

* * *

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**2.**

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It was a Saturday morning and James Potter had been quietly eating his toast while his wife labored away in the garden when a beautiful and majestic owl landed on their windowsill. With one talon, it knocked on the glass and waited patiently for James to let him in. The Head Auror did so with some confusion. None of his friends used owls as obviously expensive as this one and no one from the ministry would ever justify the expense of having one for official business. With all that said, he wondered just who it could be. Quickly, he detached the letter from the owl and turned to look at the front of the envelope, his eyes widening as he recognized it for what it was.

A courtship letter…from Lord Thomas Riddle.

Personally, James didn't know much about the illustrious Thomas except for what his daughter had told him. In her words, he was apparently "drop-dad gorgeous", rich – "Heir of a founder!" and powerful magically speaking. He was the most eligible bachelor in the whole school. Rose had been crushing on him ever since he had accidently bumped in to her and helped her gather up her books. "A true gentleman," she had gushed. James resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the memory. Merlin save them all from teenage girls and their "crushes."

"Oh Merlin," James muttered to himself as he regarded the letter, "She's going to be insufferable when I tell her that her crush has sent her an official courtship letter." Despite being more then a little happy for his precious princess, James couldn't help but wonder why now of all times. Rose had already passed 16 for some time and it was usually then courtship letters were sent out.

"James?"

James was torn from his contemplations when his wife entered the room, hands still dirty from her previous activity.

"Courtship letter," James told her with a big smile, "From Thomas Riddle."

Lily squealed uncharacteristically as she came over, grabbing the letter from James' hand. The Auror actually tried to push himself away from the table when he noticed the almost manic look in the usually calm woman's eyes.

"Rose will be so delighted," she said happily, "Come, let us inform Sirius and Remus. We'll also inform Dumbledore so that he can let the children come home tomorrow. We will open this letter together!"

"That's a wonderful idea Lily," James told her as he made his way towards the floo. "Wonderful."

"Oh my sweet princess is growing up," Lily cooed, twirling around the room like a little girl, "18 and about to get engaged."

"You know," James said, gathering up a handful of floo powder, "She can still say no."

"Of course she won't," Lily replied with a roll of her eyes, "She had confessed to me that she had been dreaming about marrying the boy for some time now."

"If you say so," James said, and threw the powder in to the fireplace followed by the call of Sirius' name.

It took about 5 seconds before his best friend's face appeared amidst the flames.

"James?" Sirius sounded alarmed, "Is something wrong?"

"You know that Riddle kid that Rosey had been crushing on? Well, he just sent over a courtship letter for her?"

Sirius' eyes widened in surprise.

"That's wonderful," he said sincerely before grabbing someone by the arm and pulling him over, "Remus! Rosey got a courtship letter!"

"Really?" Remus said with a big smile, face appearing next to Sirius', "What does the letter say?"

"We haven't opened it yet," James admitted, "We were planning to get everyone – the children included – together so we can open it tomorrow."

"If you haven't opened it yet," Remus started slowly, "Then how do you know it's for Rose?"

"It's addressed to us, and we only have one child eligible for marriage."

"But Harry just turned 16," Remus pressed, "He's eligible too."

That gave James pause.

"No way," he finally decided, laughing a little, "Only Rosey is magically talented enough to attract this boy's attention. Don't be silly Remus. Come over tomorrow and you'll see."

But little did they know, things won't go exactly as planned.

* * *

"Hmm, that's strange," Harry said, turning the letter he had just received from his parents in his hands, "Mom wants me to go home tomorrow."

"Did something happen?" Hermione asked worriedly as she peered at the content of the letter over Harry's shoulder. It was short and to the point, offering no further information than the time the portkey would activate and where to go to access it.

"I hope everything's alright," Hermione said softly, glancing over to where Rose was sat, also looking confusingly down at her letter.

"She doesn't sound frantic," Harry shrugged, putting the missive out of his mind for the moment, "I'm sure everything will be fine. In the main time, why don't you show me what we have to do for Potions."

That was enough to distract Hermione from the topic of the letter.

"Harry! Don't you ever listen in class?"

Harry laughed as Hermione started to berate him about all the things he should be doing.

* * *

**TBC.**

**A/N:** I'm sorry for the late update. Thank you all for the wonderful response. I hope this chapter amuses you as much as it did me. The next chapter will be longer and we will see the consequence of the Potter's "presumptions."

See you there.


	3. Chapter 3

**3.**

* * *

Potter Manor was already a whirlwind of activity when Harry finally landed in the foyer, still feeling a little disoriented from his trip by Portkey. He took a few moments to gather his wits before looking around, frowning at the number of servants bustling around; some carrying trays of food, others dusting every corner imaginable.

"Maria," Harry called out when he recognized one of the maids passing by, "Do you know what is going on?"

"Oh Master Harry," she greeted him; a thousand watts smile on her face. Maria has always been little Ms. Sunshine, always smiling even when she was sad and depressed. "Mistress Lily wanted the house ready to celebrate Miss Rose's engagement."

"Rose is getting engaged?" Harry echoed, not believing what he was hearing. Just a few days ago, Rose had still been mooning over Tom Riddle and now she was getting engaged? This whole thing doesn't make the tiny bit of sense in his mind. For a moment, he wondered if Maria had been listening to rumors again.

"Yes," Maria nodded, ignoring Harry's surprise, "To that nice young man she's been crushing on; Tom Riddle is his name."

Harry choked on absolutely nothing.

"Tom Riddle," he gaped, mind going back to the last Tom/Rose interaction he had witnessed. Although to be honest, it was less of an interaction and more of a one-sided show where Rose stared with dreamy eyes at Tom while the young man ignored her in favor of his book. Harry had overheard Rose tell her friends later that night how she and Tom were meant to be because they sat on the same library bench. Rose's denials can sometimes reach levels Harry didn't even know existed. According to Hermione, that was the power of a young girl in love. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," Maria chided him, "I heard the Mistress tell the Master how Miss Rose would be delighted by the Courtship offer Mr. Riddle sent to the House."

"He sent a courtship offer?" Harry repeated, feeling rather like a parrot at the moment. Nothing was making sense; why would Tom Riddle send a courtship order to a girl he had barely said a word to? Rose may be a Potter and thus still respected in the Pureblood circles, but she was far from the most attractive marriage candidate vying for Tom's attention. The Beaumonts Family, whose only daughter Emilie had been after Tom ever since his majority, was much older and richer than the Potters. Emilie was also an extremely gifted witch by everyone's account. She would be a much better match than Rose.

"Nothing's making sense," Harry lamented to Remus 10 minutes later. He had entered the kitchen with the intention of finding something to eat and found the werewolf sitting at the dining table, a cup of steaming tea in front of him. Remus had looked delighted to see him and promptly invited him over.

"From what I know of this whole affair," Remus began, after he had taken a sip of his beverage, "is that James and Lily received a courtship offer from Mr. Riddle and assumed it was for Rose."

"Of course it's for Rose," Harry groaned, "I'm not doubting the fact that the offer was for Rose; I'm just wondering why he sent it in the first place."

"Harry, without opening the letter, we would never know whom it was addressed to," Remus chided softly, "Maybe it's for you."

"Ha," Harry snorted, burying his face in to his arms, "That would make even less sense than Rose."

"I do wish you would stop being so hard on yourself," Remus said sadly, patting Harry's head as if he was still a small child. It was comforting in a way that Harry really didn't want to admit to; he was 16 for Merlin's sake, he didn't need people treating him with kid gloves any more.

Any further conversation was cut short when Rose made her appearance, the bright smile on her face indicating that Lily had probably already told her the good news.

"Isn't today such a wonderful day?" she said in a singsong voice as she nearly danced in to the kitchen, her uniform skirt swirling around her thighs as she moved. "Dear little brother, you look well."

"Wow," Harry said dryly, "You must be in a good mood if you are actually talking to me and acknowledging me as your brother."

Remus snorted at his tone, but Rose was still too out of it to truly care. Instead of berating him like every time he made fun of her, she swept down and kissed him on the cheeks – KISSED him on the cheeks – before disappearing in to the living room. Harry could hear Sirius' voice pipe up, full of congratulations and Rose's squeal of delight as she was reminded of her good fortune.

"Kill me now," Harry groaned.

Remus sighed and took another sip of his tea.

* * *

"Now that we are all united," Lily started, smiling around the room at everyone. "Let's get started."

Harry sat on the sofa next to Remus, while Rose sat on another sofa next to Sirius. Everyone was beaming and Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes while trying to school his expression in to something resembling interest. But since he had as much interest in the proceedings as being shot in the foot, it was proving to be quite the task.

"Stop grimacing," Remus hissed, elbowing him in the ribs.

"I'm not," Harry protested, not looking away from his mother, "I'm smiling."

"You look like a deranged serial killer about to strike," Remus hissed back.

Harry frowned at that.

"That wasn't really nice," he told Remus, but the older man just shrugged unapologetically and returned his attention back to the front of the room.

"Rose, would you like to do the honors?" Lily was saying when Harry turned his focus back to the Lily-Rose show.

Rose stood up gracefully, hand automatically smoothing down her skirt and she started her way up to her mother. James stood next to Lily and gave Rose a big hug as he passed her what must be the courtship letter.

"Before I open this," Rose said, teary eyed as she turned to her assembled audience. Harry resisted the urge to bash his head against the wall; he couldn't believe that Rose was about to do a speech now of all times. He knew that the girl loved dramatics with a passion, but this was ridiculous. It was just courtship letter; one that she didn't even deserve on account of the fact that she hadn't even mustered up the courage to talk to Tom yet.

_Oh I can see the wedding now_, Harry thought with a snicker, _"Rose! Look at your fiancée please! Rose, why are you trembling?"_

He must have made some kind of sound because Remus gave him another jab in the ribs and Harry rolled his eyes.

"And I would like to thank my little brother for being so shit at everything that he always manages to make me look good in comparison."

"Rose!" James protested while Lily's smile dimmed a little for the first time that morning. Harry was gratified to see that his parents would still defend him when he was the clear failure of the family.

"Sorry," Rose said, not sounding sorry at all.

"Just open the envelope," Remus said, saving everyone from awkward silences and hurt feelings.

James passed Rose a letter opener and Rose slit finally slit the envelope open and extracted the content.

As per custom, the courtship letter was written on an expansive piece of parchment with the crest of the person making the offer stamped on the bottom. Any hope that Harry had that this was some kind of prank evaporated when he recognized the familiar seal of the Slytherin House, visible even from his seat.

Rose closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and began to read.

Harry could see the exact moment she read something she had not expected, because her entire body froze, her mouth still opened on a silent "oh".

"Rose?" Lily asked in confusion as she came over and looked over her daughter's shoulders. She too for some reason, froze in shock, eyes wide as she read.

"What's going on?" James asked in confusion, no longer smiling.

"Oh," Lily said softly as Rose started to tremble, her face turning redder than the sweater she had on. Harry was, for a moment, concerned about her well being when out of the blue, she lunged at him, features contorted in to a mask of fury.

"What the bloody hell?" Harry yelped as he dove away, his speed saving him from his sister's claws. He may not be good at magic, but he had tried to compensate it by training his body to the max. Years and years of martial art training had given Harry the speed and reflex to evade any attacker; wizard or not. He knew that technically Rose would never succeed in touching him, but it did not stop the indignant sounds coming out of his mouth.

"You traitor!" she shrieked, trying to hit him once more, "You did this to me."

"What did I do?" Harry yelled back, diving behind the sofa and using Remus as a shield. For some insane reason, Remus looked amused by the whole thing, a glint of understanding in his eyes. _Good, _Harry thought, _Good for you because I have no idea what is going on._

"Rosey," Sirius intervened – or try to before receiving an elbow to the nose.

"Rose!" James snapped, finally had enough of his daughter's theatrics. "You are a young lady for Merlin's sake; this behavior is extremely unbecoming of someone of your class."

With Rose safely contained for the moment, Harry sneaked towards the forgotten letter, lying on the ground so innocently, as if it hadn't just prompted Rose to throw one of her most violent tantrum to date.

With an anticipatory giddiness he couldn't explain, Harry leant down and retrieved the parchment, smoothing it out and began to read.

"No bloody way," he said.

Sirius moved up behind him, one hand still massaging his bruised nose.

"What?" he asked and took the letter rather rudely from Harry's hand. His expression of pure shock was pretty satisfying though.

"It was for Harry, wasn't it?" Remus asked calmly, no trace of surprise to be found either in his tone or expression.

"You knew?" Harry shrieked at the same time as James exclaimed: "What!?"

"Well I didn't before today," he shrugged, "But I, unlike everyone here, didn't presume it was for Rose."

"Oh Merlin," said Lily, sinking down on one of the sofas. She looked lost, as if her world had just been tipped on one axis. Harry couldn't really blame her. He too was pretty out of it as well.

"So," James cleared his throat, recovering enough to offer Harry a small smile, "What are you going to do?"

"Yeah kid," Sirius piped up, eyes still a little wide, but looking more like his usual self by the minute, "Are you going to agree?"

"You could," Remus suggested, "It will give you a chance to get to know him and if at the end of the courtship, you still want to say no to bonding, you can."

"Why are you encouraging him!?" Rose shrieked, trying desperately to lunge himself at Harry once more, "He stole Tom from me! He should be punished."

"If there was one thing I didn't do was steal Tom," Harry said dryly, "You barely said a word to the guy; the Tom you are in love with is a Tom you have constructed in your head."

"That wasn't wise," Remus said softly as Rose's voice got higher and higher as hysteria fully took control of her body.

"I'll give her a sedative," James told the group before he marched Rose away.

"Harry?"

Harry frowned, staring down at the parchment as if it was some kind of new species. His mind was crowded with questions he was desperate to find answers to.

"Are you going to refuse?" Remus asked, smiling at him.

_No_, Harry thought, _there was no way I am refusing. This is the moment I've been waiting for. Finally, something I get that Rose doesn't. Who cares about Tom's intentions?_ _I'm going to milk this little miracle for all it's worth._

"No," Harry said, smiling at Remus, then at Sirius and finally at his still shock-stricken mother, "I think I'll give Tom a chance."

* * *

**TBC**

**A/N: **Next chapter, we will see the siblings back to Hogwarts and as per custom, Harry will need to tell Tom in person that his offer was accepted. That will be fun; expect more gaping and shouting. If there's time, we may also see Tom help Harry with his magic and trying to figure out what is wrong with him.

Also, the Potters have human servants instead of house elves.

Also, Harry knows about Rose' crush, but his grand plan only came recently.

Note: Tom is 2 years older than Harry so he is in his last year. He has one year before graduation.

Alright that's it for now. Thank you all for the wonderful support for this story. Please read and review; I love each and every one of your comments. I hope you liked their reaction? More to come next chapter. Tell me what you think?

Well, that's it. I hope to see you soon.


	4. Chapter 4

**4.**

* * *

After the "excitement" of Rose's melt-down, returning to the relative normality of Hogwarts seemed almost surreal. For the first few hours after settling back in his dorm room, Harry existed in a state of perpetual giddiness, brought upon by this new development and by the fact that James had decided to take away some of Rose's privileges after she had tried to claw Harry's eyes out. Lily, of course, had attempted to reason with him, arguing that Rose was not in her usual frame of mind and should be comforted instead of punished, but James had laid down the law. Rose had acted like a child and needed to be taught, lest she decided it was acceptable to do so in public as well. Just the memory of that put Harry in a particularly good mood.

In fact, it made him so happy that Hermione actually commented on it during dinner later that night.

"You look…weird. I have never seen you so giddy before. Did something happen during your visit home?"

"It did actually," Harry replied and told her the whole thing. Hermione listened intently for the whole duration and gaped at him when he was done.

"No way," she gasped, sounding so shocked that it would have been offensive if Harry hadn't felt the same way, "Why would he do that?"

"Who cares?" Harry shrugged, unconcerned, "That isn't important. The important part is how upset Rose was about the whole thing. She was practically hysterical."

"I don't think it's nice to enjoy your own sister's heartbreak to this degree," Hermione commented dryly as Harry nearly cackled, "She is still family."

"Not really," Harry replied, "She may have been family when we were younger, but no sister of mine would treat me the way she did for the past few years. It's obvious she doesn't care about me so why should I care about her?"

Already realizing how sensitive this subject was, Hermione made the wise choice and changed the topic.

"When are you going to talk to him?" She asked while looking around the crowded Great Hall for a peek of Tom Riddle's familiar figure. But for some reason, the Head Boy wasn't where he usually sat during meals.

"Maybe tonight," Harry told her, taking a big bite out of his pie, "But I still have to find him first."

"Well, he's not at dinner," Hermione commented, lips pursed in thought. It was the first time Tom Riddle had missed diner and she wondered if that was a sign of some kind.

"It doesn't really matter," Harry said uncaringly, "He can wait. This delicious pie however really can't."

Hermione rolled her eyes and muttered about boys and their stomachs, the topic of their previous conversation all but forgotten.

* * *

Harry hadn't lied when he had told Hermione about intending to find Tom that evening, but plans and reality sometimes doesn't work out. In this case, after wandering the castle for about an hour in search of the Head Boy, he finally gave up and headed back to his own dorm. He can contact Tom tomorrow anyway.

The next morning, Harry made his way to the Great Hall just before 8 and was surprised to find that Hermione was already there, waiting for his arrival. His eyebrows rose in question as he joined her, all the while wondering what she was planning. For the past few years, Hermione had always waited for him inside the Great Hall and to see such a disturbance in their usual arrangement was more than a little disconcerting.

"I just wanted to warn you that Tom's already inside," she told him once he was close enough to hear her talk, "He made some arrangements so you may want to prepare yourself."

Harry rolled his eyes and passed her by.

"Don't worry," he replied, "Nothing will faze me."

He pushed open the heavy doors and as soon as the Great Hall opened up to him, he realized what Hermione had been talking about.

Sitting at his usual table, Tom Riddle was truly a sight to behold. Instead of his usual back school robes, the Head Boy wore some sort of muggle tuxedo, tailor made to fit his lithe figure to a T. The thing that attracted the most people's attention however was the gigantic flower arrangement he held in one hand; filled with all the types that Harry particularly liked. The young man wondered a little dizzyingly where the other teen had gotten his information.

"Whom do you think it's for?" a female voice was heard murmuring to her friend as Harry started to move towards his own table. He didn't know the etiquette in this sort of thing; should he head towards Tom or should he simply pretend he hadn't noticed him yet? Besides, he'll have to talk to him eventually.

"I think it must be for some rich pureblood princess," another voice commented, "She's so lucky."

"Busybodies, all of them," Hermione muttered under her breath as she followed Harry along. The young man resisted the urge to roll his eyes at that.

Luckily for Harry, his choice of whether to ignore Tom for the moment or not was taken out of his hands when the young man in question made his move, getting up from his seat and dusting his suit pants off with one casual hand. The bout of silence that ensured made Harry pause; his footsteps faltering before stopping.

"Oh Merlin," he heard a girl squealed, her voice only audible to his ears due to his close proximity to her seat, "He's going to make a move. This is so romantic."

Indeed, Tom turned around, bouquet of flowers in one hand, eyes searching the crowd until he found Harry. For the first time ever, their gazes met and Harry could feel himself stop breathing for just one second. He may not have a crush on Tom, but even he had to admit how overwhelming the teen's presence could be. Tom had this way of looking at you that made you feel as if you are the only one to exist in his eyes; no wonder Rose had fallen so quickly.

_No_, Harry told himself firmly, shaking his head and breaking their connection, _Don't lose yourself. Since you don't even know each other, Tom must be doing this for some ulterior motive. Even if I don't care what it is at the moment, I can't let myself fall victim to his tricks._

"He's coming this way," someone nearly shrieked, bringing Harry out of his contemplation. He looked up, just in time to see Tom slowly make his progress towards where Harry was standing, almost frozen.

"Hi Harry," Tom said once he was standing in front of him, charming grin making his face almost light up. If Harry didn't know any better, he would have thought Tom was genuinely happy to see him. But experience had taught him to read other people like a book and it was obvious to him that Tom's smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Hello Tom," Harry replied simply as everyone around them started to talk all at the same time.

Those who didn't know who Harry was started screaming bloody murder at that; all wondering who this upstart was and why Tom was paying him any attention. And those who knew who Harry was or at least knew of his reputation screamed even louder, their voices of outrage threatening to attract the teacher's attention, if there were any in the Great Hall at the moment – the annual professors' conference had been scheduled for that morning.

"Have your parents received my letter?" Tom asked, ignoring the way people were reacting.

"Yes they did," Harry replied, "They've agreed as well."

"Wonderful," Tom smiled, "Then I can go to the next step and make a proposal to you in person."

With that said, Tom did the most unexpected thing and dropped on to one knee.

The world…exploded.

* * *

**TBC**

**A/N: **Harry's reaction next chapter on Tom's less than subtle proposal. I can tell you that he won't be impressed. Thank you all for the wonderful reviews and follows/favourites.

For the sake of this fic, a courtship proposal (in person) for wizards is similar to muggles. Although generally it's done in private, but Tom kind of wants to make a claim so he did it in public. Think of the courtship as an engagement period. You can still break it off before the wedding. And instead of a normal ring, you offer the other person a ring with your house crest, generally passed down for centuries (in the case of older families).

Sending the offer to the parents is like asking for their permission before proposing to your intended.


	5. Chapter 5

**5.**

* * *

"You look sad," said Lavender, trailing along Rose as both girls made their way to the Great Hall, "Did something happen during your visit home?

"No," Rose replied quickly, not wanting the events of the past night to become public knowledge. She was still convinced that her good-for-nothing brother was just the butt of some kind of prank and pretty soon, the world will return to its normal state. But for now, she was going to keep denying until her face turned blue.

"You sure?" Lavender insisted, sounding dubious. She knew Rose well enough to sense that her friend hadn't been telling the whole truth. On one hand, it was sometimes nice to have a friend who knew you so well, but on the other hand; not being able to keep any secrets can sometimes become daunting.

"I'm sure," Rose repeated, eyes looking anywhere but the girl next to her, "I'm sure."

Lavender remained silent for the rest of their trip to the Great Hall and Rose was grateful for it. She didn't want to talk right now, or at least, not about the things Lavender wanted to talk about. It was just better for both of them if they stayed silent.

They made it to the Great Hall in record time and Rose pushed open the door and was about to ask Lavender if she was hungry yet when her eyes caught sight of something that would haunt her nightmares for the rest of her life.

* * *

"It's a terrible idea," was what Abraxas Malfoy had said when Tom had run past him his idea of doing the proposal in public.

"I agree," Alphard Black had commented, looking almost sick at being on the same side as Abraxas. Those two may be cousins by blood, but they still fought like cats and dogs whenever they had the pretext to do so. The only thing they really have in common was their friendship with Tom.

Talking about friends, Tom had truly taken in to consideration their views when making the final decision, but ultimately decided that if he couldn't risk people casting aspersions on the subject. If he wanted to make sure no one tries to tempt Harry away from him, he needed to make a grand gesture at the beginning; a pre-emptive strike if you will. Tom had always been a possessive bastard when it came to things he cared about and the power that would result from the bonding with the Heir of Magic was high on that list.

So Tom had opted for a public proposal, going all out with flowers and all. He was starting to admit that maybe he had miscalculated when Harry stared back at him in horror after he had said the proposing words.

For a moment, Tom was sure that Harry was about to reject him outright when the young man in question froze, eyes leaving Tom's to land on something in the distance. Something flashes through his eyes and before Tom could blink, Harry's whole behavior did a huge 180 degrees turn.

"Oh Tom, that's so romantic," he gushed and promptly looked sick at himself. But the grimace was quickly hidden as he continued, "I would love to accept your offer."

Tom omphed in surprise when Harry grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled, bringing him up in to a kiss.

It was, in one word, terrible. The kiss was too hard and too cold; their teeth clashed together due to the wrong angle.

Now Tom was the one who wanted to grimace.

Once they separated, Tom subtly turned towards where Harry had looked a few moments ago and just in time to catch sight of Rose turning around, her face red with anger and tears running down her cheeks.

_Ah_, thought Tom, _so that's how it is. _

Despite himself, a smirk found its way to his lips as he begin to regard Harry under a brand new light.

So maybe, Harry wasn't so Gryffindorish after all.

And that thought excited him to no end.

* * *

**TBC**

**A/N: **Hi, short chapter, but it hasn't even been a day since the last one. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Review lets me understand what you would like to see, and what you didn't like; it also encourages me to write And helps me improve:) Thank you all for the support so far. See you next time.

PS: I will be doing a section next chapter where i will be answering your questions and reviews (up to date), so if you have any, now is the time to ask. Thanks you once again for the support.


	6. Chapter 6

**6.**

* * *

Since the Slytherin Table was the closest, they opted to sit there for the duration of the meal, despite Harry's protests. Hermione, who was following Harry, surprisingly didn't make a fuss and took a seat next to the boy, her hands smoothing down her uniform skirt as she did so. Tom was, admittedly, intrigued by the whole affair. He wasn't nearly as stupid and prejudiced to believe that Hermione Granger shouldn't be taken seriously because of her blood purity. He himself was a half-blood and was considered one of the strongest wizards of his generation. Harry was also a half-blood and was chosen by magic itself to be its Heir. Hermione was a muggleborn who just happened to be the top of her level, beating Lucius Malfoy, Abraxas' cousin on his mother's side, by a good 5 points. It had been amusing to see the usual proud Pureblood practically foam at the mouth at the thought.

_I'll have to look out for Ms. Granger in the future, _Tom decided as he took a bite of his pancake, all the while conscious of the fact that Hermione was looking at him rather suspiciously. While Harry must have decided not to question Tom's intention due to his eagerness to show his sister who's boss – _Tunnel vision_, Tom thought disapprovingly – Hermione obviously wasn't disadvantaged by the same single-minded desire for revenge. Tom actually wouldn't be surprised if the girl would be one of the first to figure out his plan.

He smiled as innocently as possible back at the girl and was rewarded with a scowl.

_How amusing, _he thought delightedly to himself. This whole affair was turning out better than he had previously thought.

A shuffle of movement from his right attracted his attention back to Harry. The teen, who had seemingly been entranced by his cereal, was now staring at the entrance once more. Tom followed his gaze and saw the numerous Professors making their return from their annual meeting. Tom's eyebrows threatened to rise in surprise. Even he hadn't realized that new magical signatures have appeared in the room – a consequence of how all professors were taught to conceal them in case their enemies decides to take advantage – so how had Harry felt it? Was it a coincidence? Had he just look up at the right moment and caught sight of the professors? It was the logical answer, but something inside Tom – the instinct that had never steered him wrong before – was telling him that there was more than that.

So many questions and so little time; it didn't matter, Tom decided, he was going to get to the bottom of the mystery that was Harry James Potter even if it meant that his other plans has to be put on hold.

* * *

"You guys should go register the courtship as soon as possible," said Hermione.

Tom looked over at her and realized she was right. Protocol insisted that all new courtships between two students needed to be registered with the Headmaster. It was a safety procedure that made sure that if anything happened to one of the two, the Headmaster or any person who will be on the scene would know how to approach the situation, lest they accidently break a rule of courtship. Tom had only read about it in second year when the topic of Pureblood courtship rules had interested him; he wondered why a seemingly anti-Pureblood anything (which was ironic since Pureblood rules or not, it was still knowledge and it was so unlike an avid reader such as Hermione to be so prejudiced) girl like Hermione would have knowledge of it. Then he realized that the rule must have been included in Hogwarts' rulebook and if rumors were to be believed, the girl had somehow managed to memorize the whole thing by third year.

"I guess we can go after breakfast," Harry allowed reluctantly before fixing up a fake smile and said in a rather loud voice: "I hate all this administrative stuff, I just want to spend more time with Tom" when a girl Tom realized was part of Rose Potter's little crew, passed by them and glared at Harry. Tom resisted the urge to snicker when the girl stomped off, her book bag in one hand.

"Well, since Tom here is a Head Boy, you guys won't need me to show you to Dumbledore's office," Hermione continued before going back to her food.

Harry gave her a horrified look...which she totally ignored. Tom had the distinct impression that Hermione was punishing Harry for some reason.

"I agree," Tom piped up, because he was starting to find Harry's horrified face to be rather…cute, "I think as newly-engaged, we should spend more time alone."

"But," Harry tried once more, "Don't we need a chaperone for this stuff? I read it in one of those courtship books a few years back."

"Normally," Tom agreed, "But we're in a school; that rule won't really apply."

Harry deflated.

Further conversation was cut short however when Abraxas and Alphard made their appearance, trudging over with frowns on their faces.

"What happened?" Tom asked as soon as they had sat down.

"You know Minerva McGonagall?"

"Of course he knows her," Abraxas snapped, "She's the Head Girl and he's Head Boy."

Black flushed an ugly shade of red before jabbing Malfoy with an elbow to the guy, causing the boy to double over.

"Anyway," Alphard continued as if Abraxas wasn't wheezing next to him, "She gave us detention because I forgot my tie and Malfoy here also forgot his."

"Was this your first warning?" Hermione asked, attracting both boys' attention on to her.

"Yes," Alphard replied, in a tone that clearly wonders why Hermione was talking to him.

Hermione ignored him with an ease that Tom had only learned to perfect after 6 years of interaction with the other teen.

"Then she has no right to give you detention," she continued, "Article 5.2 of Hogwart's official rule book clearly states that in matter of violation to the dress code, prefects and teachers have the obligation of giving the offenders a minimum of 3 verbal warnings before they are allowed to give any detention."

"That's really nice of you, Ms. Granger" Abraxas interjected before Alphard could open his mouth and ask if Hermione had really memorized the rule book, "I will talk to the Professors after breakfast, to get this detention overturned."

Hermione flushed a delicate pink at the sentiment before returning to her meal, a small smile on her face.

For the rest of the meal, Tom noticed how Abraxas spent more time conversing with Hermione than with everyone else.

_Hmm_, Tom thought in amusement, _How interesting_.

By the sour look on Harry's face, it was obvious that he didn't particularly agree.

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**ANSWERS TO REVIEWS**

* * *

As mentioned in the previous chapter, this is the section where I will be answering your reviews. For those who do not desire to stay, I will see you next chapter. For the others, please enjoy:

* * *

**Chapter 1 Reviews**

Shout outs to everyone who left me a message of encouragement:) Thanks especially to:

Trizsh15; loveless23; VuDu10; Eli; Sweet Smiles; RobinIsley; Gemstones; ThestralxD; The World in Black and White; MaiWishes; xDarklightx; Charlie0925; angellovesfanfiction; solsere; XxXSmiles101XxX; musme; FuzzyRaibowSocks; Guest; Magicanimegurl; Cynical0range; PerSonNee; darkblue91; aishiteru naru; nostalgiaghoul; sousie; xXxOtAkU-444xXx; Ajsk4eva; 1sunfun; sad sabrine; Drblahar; Inveigler; Lemrinth; Dedicated4reading ; Stardust of Orion; Insanely-Yours96; Guest; MittknightDr; ChibiAyane; Iyawolfwhite; geetac; Tezi the Waterbender; LunarCatNinja; Criollo; FantasyFreak123; Melikalilly; Madame Artemis; Triden; Kisa; Rori Potter.

* * *

**To: solsere**

Hi, first of all, thank you for your review. There would indeed be more competition if other people knows about it, but since the prophecy is top secret for the moment (except for Tom), no one really knows about it. And Tom can trust his friends not to go behind his back (ok, less trust and more "I have blackmail on you if you ever chose to betray me").

Your idea of it getting out is actually pretty interesting. Although poor Harry will suffocate under all the attention if it did. Maybe it's something that could be explored little on.

I hope that answers your question and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

* * *

**Chapter 2 Reviews**

There weren't any questions for this chapter so here are the shoutouts to people who left me an encouraging note. Thanks to:

Trizsh15; Guest; Iesh; Maedeh; Superfan8; Animelover5008; Melikalilly; StackofStories; angellovesfanfiction; Musme; Guest; GabrielShiroe; ChibiAyane; Guest; evilwing2004; Guest; Allykrau; miyabita yami; Kiri Namikase; Guest; yume; Tubbs; icyquest4; kat1316; LunarCatNinja; xXxOtAkU-444xXx; Stardust of Orion; fanfictionnatic; Ronievad; Shy Lavender; Geetac; RobinIsley; fan of fanfiction1; evenstarlily; kirsty21; Lemrinth; Guest; Zafirya; notsofrilly; xDarklightx;ANATHEMA PRINCE

* * *

Replies to reviews for chapter 3 and 4 will be in the next chapter. Once again, thank you all for the wonderful support. Thank you for all those who favorited and followed the story. I hope you enjoy the rest.

I will continue to answer to reviews for any new chapters I post so don't hesiste to tell me what you think - what you would like to see and what doesn't make sense.

Your reviews have all being sweet and insightful. I am constantly in awe of some things some readers have pointed out that adds even more depth to the plot.

Thank you all. I can't wait to read what you guys have to say next:) It's a great pleasure for a writer to have such a supportive cast of readers.

That's it for now. See you next time.


	7. Chapter 7

**7.**

* * *

The hallway leading to the Headmaster's office was deserted, not surprisingly since it was situated in a part of the castle that didn't host any classrooms. Not many students would have reasons to loiter here unless they have a meeting with the Headmaster himself.

The moment Tom and Harry had reached the corridor in question, Harry politely but firmly extracted himself from Tom's arm around his shoulder and put a respectable distance between the two of them.

"Is something wrong?" Tom asked, even though he knew exactly what was going on in Harry's head. The teen may be a wolf in sheep's clothing, but he was a really young wolf whose hunting skills are not exactly polished. In consequence, his motives were so easily seen through if one knew where to look.

"No, of course not," Harry replied, "It was getting a little hot, that's all."

Tom hummed in acknowledgement even though the temperature inside the castle was constantly maintained at a comfortable temperature.

"It was," Harry protested, obviously taking Tom's silence as disbelief. His face was a little flushed; his gaze shifty; a clear sign that he wasn't exactly telling the truth. Tom frowned a little at that; he didn't really care that Harry was lying to him, but it offended him that someone he was interested in was so bloody bad at it.

"I didn't say anything," he replied, deciding that he was going to have to train Harry in the future.

"Oh Merlin you're annoying," Harry snapped, his façade of companionship finally cracking, "I'm starting to believe that going through this farce won't be worth it."

Tom resisted the urge to snicker at Harry's frustration. A baby wolf indeed; he couldn't even stick to his plans for more than a day.

"Oh?" Tom replied smoothly, "Farce? I can assure you I do not consider this a farce."

"Oh come off it," Harry snapped, forcing his hands in to his pockets, "You don't know me so that means you have some ulterior motives to asking to court me. You can't possibly want to bond with me"

"If you know that already," Tom smirked despite feeling a little disappointed that Harry hadn't arrived at the right conclusion, "Why have you agreed?"

This shut him up pretty quickly.

"I…I," Harry stuttered, "I…"

"You wanted to make your sister jealous," Tom supplied, deciding to cut the boy some slack. If he wanted to train Harry, it wouldn't do to break him so fast.

Harry turned to stare at him in surprise.

"You know?"

"Of course I know," Tom huffed, "It was so obvious that it isn't funny. Luckily for you, most of the students of this school are idiots so were oblivious to you master plan."

Embarrassed, Harry looked away again.

"You don't mind me using you? It's not forever you know. I plan to break of this courtship thing as soon as I've decided that Rose had enough."

"Now that won't do," Tom tsked, shaking his head, "I actually had my heart set on bonding with you."

Harry snorted at that.

"Good luck with that. I don't even like you and although I am bisexual, you are so not my type."

"I am everyone's type," Tom protested hotly, then cursed himself for taking the bait. He didn't know what it was about Harry that was making him lose his carefully crafted composure. It was dangerous as it was exhilarating. It excited Tom for the first time in a long time. "And don't throw me away just yet. I can guarantee you that I'll win your heart in time."

"Is that a challenge?" Harry demanded, eyes blazing he stopped in his tracks and turned his entire body towards Tom. The older teen followed suit.

"If you want," Tom allowed easily, "But I see it as a promise."

For a moment, none of them spoke, preferring to stare at each other. The air around them was practically crackling with tension and Tom could feel his magic getting invigorated by the sensation. _Release me_, it practically begged, _Let me out._

_Not now,_ Tom told it in a soothing tone, _Soon._

Harry was the first to break their staring contest, turning back to the front with a small huff. The blush coloring his cheeks delighted Tom.

"Whatever," he said and started moving again, Tom following along, for once preferring to let the silence linger.

* * *

"My boy," Dumbledore beamed at them, "What can I help you with?"

While Harry smiled back at the old man, Tom preferred to stare blankly back at him. He had never liked Dumbledore; the man may be a capable wizard, but he was far from a good Headmaster. His tendency to play favorites clouded his decision taking abilities. Even if he preached about equality on a regular basis, it was obvious he favored Gryffindors over the other houses. Not surprising considering how everyone closest to him were from that house.

"It's nice to see you again," Harry told him, "It's been too long."

"We're here to register a courtship," Tom interrupted before Harry could start deviating in to other topics and trapping them here for another 30 minutes. Although he really didn't have anywhere to be – his first class of the day was at 10, but that didn't mean he wanted to spend more time than necessary in this office.

"A courtship?" Dumbledore repeated, sounding shocked by the words. Harry glared at Tom in annoyance, before forcing a smile back on to his face as he returned his gaze to his mentor.

"Yes, between Tom and I," he said, as if it wasn't obviously.

"That is…an unexpected development," Dumbledore said slowly, even though it wasn't in his job description to meddle in these matters. As Headmaster, he was tasked to registered participants in the courtship; he was supposed to be an unbiased observer. But this time, Dumbledore was anything but unbiased. By the look on his face, he was definitely not happy with Harry's choice. Tom knew that the old man was trying to figure out what his game plan was and Tom wasn't about to make it easy for him. Dumbledore may be old, but he was powerful and wise. He could become a veritable thorn in Tom's side if the young man wasn't careful.

"The registration," Tom insisted, cutting Harry's response off. He knew that he would pay for his rudeness, but Dumbledore has a thing about him that rubs Tom the wrong way.

"Of course," the Headmaster said, not looking the least surprised by the reaction. He reached in to a trunk behind him and extracted an old leather-bound book. It took a few seconds before he found a blank page and pushed the book and a quill towards the two teens.

Tom signed his name first and watched passively as the ink glowed slightly as the book took in his magical signature. Harry followed suit, his hand a little shaky as he did so.

"As a Founder's heir, you'll have access to the Consort Rooms on the sixth floor," the Headmaster said while Harry carefully closed the book and pushed it back to him, "It's a beautiful place so do try to enjoy them. You can set your password with the painting guarding the entrance. Tom, I'm sure you know it is."

"I do," Tom replied, not even trying to deny the knowledge, "We'll be taking our leave,"

Dumbledore was obviously about to protest, mouth open but his words were cut off as Fawkes suddenly flew off his perch and landed on Harry's head. Tom actually had to blink at that. He had never thought the phoenix would be so open with students; the last time he was here, the bloody bird had ignored him with an arrogance that Abraxas would have been proud of. But with Harry, he was acting more like a kitten than a majestic symbol of the Light.

"Fawkes," Dumbledore exclaimed, looking a little resigned, "Not again."

Harry, however, just laughed easily and brought up a hand to caress the phoenix.

"Does that happen often?" Tom couldn't help but ask, his mind whirling with the implications of this new development.

"It does actually," Dumbledore sighed, "I really don't know why, but I truly believe that my familiar is obsessed with Harry."

"I invigorate him," Harry laughed, looking delighted by his companion, "I mean that literarily. Every time he's forced back to his perch, he appear drunk."

"Another mystery of life," Dumbledore sighed, not realizing the way Tom had froze momentarily at the revelation.

_A phoenix drunk on wizard magic...It couldn't be..._

Tom's smirk threatened to take over his face as he realized just what was happening here.

Looks like the stakes of hisplan has just gotten a little higher.

* * *

**TBC**

**Replies to reviews will be done via personal messages. Thanks for reading:)**


	8. Chapter 8

**8.**

**Longer chapter:)**

Introduction of a new character Evan Castillo and his mother Anna.

* * *

Evan Castillo was not in a good mood; why you may ask? That is because Tom bloody Riddle had decided to barge in to his dorm room at 5 in the morning, ordering – yes, ordering! – him to wake up because he had something important to ask of Evan. The young man had thought things like this won't be happening anymore when Tom had moved out, but he guessed he was a little bit too optimistic for his own good.

"Tom." Evan said with barely concealed irritation as he finally made his way down to the common room, which unsurprisingly was empty due to the early hours of the morning. He had just returned from an impromptu trip hom yesterday night and was looking forward to a morning lay-in. But no, Tom had to wake him up.

Huffing, Evan glared at Tom. As one of the strongest duelist in Slytherin, a glare from Evan would normally cower anyone in to submission, but since Tom wasn't just anybody, it barely fazed him - it had never fazed him…much to Evan's eternal frustration. "Tom…what are you doing?"

"Drinking coffee," Tom replied with a sip of his cup. How he had managed to get coffee at this hour was another mystery that Tom wasn't about to share.

"I can see that," Evan seethed, resisting the urge to snatch the newspaper Tom was reading along with enjoying his drink. As usual, the news on the front cover was far from cheerful; the rise of an unknown Dark Lord in Germany has been dominated the news for weeks and normally, British wizards were conceited enough to not give a crap until said danger would reach their doorsteps, but in this case, some experts believed that what's happening in Germany will affect the UK pretty soon. Evan knew all this because his father was one of those said-experts.

But that was not the point right now. Instead, the point right now was sitting in front of him, looking all serene with his coffee and newspaper, acting as if he hadn't just interrupted Evan's much needed beauty sleep.

"Then what's the problem?" Tom asked, looking up at him non-impressed.

"The problem," Evan hissed, his left eye twitching "is that you barged in to my room at 5 in the morning, waking me up with an emergency and when I do come down to meet you, what do I see? You, drinking coffee calmly; no emergency in sight. If it was anyone else Tom, I swear, you would be the victim of an extremely nasty curse by now."

"Merlin Evan," Tom smirked at him, "You are a Slytherin. Do have some decorum. Besides, I don't understand why you are in such a foul mood. So I woke you up, big deal."

"Foul mood?" Evan hissed. "Foul mood? Listen here Tommy boy, I know it is difficult to understand, so I'll say it slowly. YOU DO NOT WAKE SOMEONE UP AT 5 A.M AND EXPECT THEM TO BE IN A GOOD MOOD!"

"Oh," Tom blinked innocently, "Was it too early for you?"

Evan spluttered indignantly as Tom returned his attention to his newspaper, lips pursed in a slight frown.

"You're punishing me, aren't you?" Even finally said, forcing himself to calm down. He took a few deep breaths to regain his focus. "For bringing a girl from another House back here."

"You are not as hopeless as I thought," Tom said mildly, finally putting down his paper, "You're right. I am punishing you, but that is not the reason I called you down here."

"What is it?" Evan asked, interested despite himself. Tom was always involved in things beyond Evan's understanding and it interested him when the young man in question would deem it necessary to share.

"I need to speak to your mother," Tom told him, "As soon as possible."

"My…mother," Evan repeated slowly. Anna Castillo was, what society would call, an oddball. Instead of marrying a wealthy man and stay at home, Anna was dedicated to her work, more so then to her children. She was obsessed with death magic and was the world's foremost expert on the Deathly Hallows. While most people don't even believe they exist, Anna has spent 10 years of her life research them. When he had been young, Evan had resented her mother's absence. Now he was older, resentment turned in to a sort of indifference. He ignored her and she ignored him. It was an arrangement that worked fantastically. "Tom, you do know that I have no idea where mom is."

"Your father might know," Tom insisted, "Write to him. I need to speak to your mother as soon as possible. Tell her I have something that would interest her greatly."

Evan's eyes widened.

"You have proof of the Hallows' existence? Because that's the only thing that would interest her."

Tom smirked once more, leaning back in to his armchair.

"That's between your mother and me when you find her. Now run along and deliver my message."

"I'm not your slave," Evan snapped, but proceeded to rise none the same. No matter how he felt, one just simply does not say no to Tom Riddle.

* * *

"Hi, Harry right?"

Harry looked up from his book, surprised at the interruption. The speaker was a young girl; bright green eyes and slightly tanned skin; pretty in a sort of elvish kind of way. She was also wearing a uniform with the Slytherin House crest.

"Yes," he said carefully, "How may I help you?"

_Was she one of Tom's lackey's? _he wondered to himself. In a stroke of luck, Tom had an emergency meeting with the teacher for his Runes class and thus could not spend Harry's free period with him. Harry didn't mind though; after the excitement of the last few days, he wanted some time alone. _But it looks like my luck is over._

Sighing internally, Harry forced on a smile and turned his entire attention to the girl who had just sat down next to him, noting her rather nervous disposition. The chances that she had been asked by Tom to come keep an eye on Harry increased with every second. Although why Tom had chosen her instead of Black or Malfoy was anyone's guess.

The girl must have realized what he had been thinking because she immidietly said: "I'm Emily and I'm not here on behalf of Tom."

"Oh?" Harry blinked, "Why are you here?"

"I'm here on behalf of Professor Slughorn," she answered.

Professor Horace Slughorn taught Potions to the higher level while Harry's father's arch nemesis Severus Snape taught Potions to the lower ones. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to let Snape be in charge of introducing a potentially dangerous class to kids was obviously out of their minds. Snape was terryfying on a good day. The way he would snarl and take points for every little thing made him the most hated professor in the whole school. Professor Slughorn on the other hand was more popular amongst the students, mainly due to the massive network of connections he had amassed through the years. Everyone knew that Slughorn was on talking terms with numerous wizarding celebrities and could convince any one of them to pay him a personal visit.

Harry, being the underachiever he was, had never had the "privilege" of talking to the man. He was abmysal at potions and would probably never be able to take Slughorn's class. He didn't care about that though, since Harry hated potions as much potions apparently hated him. With all that said, it made absolutely no sense for Slughorn to suddenly seek him out. No sense...except for the little fact that he was now being courted by the most high profile student in school.

"And how may I help Professor Slughorn?" he asked, eyebrows threatening to crawl off his face they were raised so high.

"He's organising a welcome back to school party and would like to issue you a personal invite. Of course Tom was also invited and has already confirmed that he would be going."

_So it's really about Tom_, Harry thought to himself. One of his biggest mistakes when conceiving his master plan was failure to take in to consideration just how much his life would change if he accepted Tom's proposal. Back then, he had been so blinded by his desire to finally overcome his sister that nothing else mattered. Now that he was neck-deep in this whole affair, the implication of a relationship with a Founder's Heir was starting to hit him. With Tom courting him, Harry's blissful days of anonymity were over. People was going to try to get on his good side to impress Tom. Just the thought of the additional crap he was going to have to deal with made him shiver.

"Harry?"

"Oh sorry," he said to Emily as he gazed back at her, "I guess if Tom's going, I'll go as well. Go take a look."

"That's fantastic news," Emily said and actually sounded sincere. Harry had underestimated her when he had seen her for the first time, but he understood now why she was in Slytherin. Her acting skills were superb.

"When will the party be?"

She took out an envelop from her skirt pocket and handed it over. Harry took it before looking at the front. His name was written in green; cursive letters that made the whole thing look elegant and sophisticated. Harry could feel the trace of Slughorn's magical signature on the item, confirming that it was indeed him who had sent it. Sometimes, his extreme sensitivity to magic can come in to handy. For one thing, no wizard can sneak up on him unless he was extremely distracted; even if they did all they could to hide their magical signature, Harry can still feel it. It was ironic that someone as useless as him at magic could have such a rare ability.

"That seems to be in order," he told Emily, shaking his head to dispel his thoughts, "Thank you for bringing it over."

"Of course," Emily said and rose, smoothing down her skirt when she was standing once more. "Thank you for your time."

With a nod, she dissapeared in to the crowd of students making their way to the Castle.

Once she was gone, Harry put the invitation aside and took up his book again. Reading the invitation could wait; first, he wanted to find out how this chapter ends.

* * *

If Harry had expected to remain undisturbed until he finished his novel, he would have been deeply dissapointed because not even 5 minutes later, a second girl appeared.

"Hello," she said as she sat down next to Harry. The young man sighed a little in resignation and put his book down, before turning to face his companion. He nearly choked in surprise as he caught sight of two of the biggest raddish earrings framing the newcomer's face.

"Hi," he tried, eyes unable to tear themselves away from those...things.

"I'm Luna," the girl introduced herself, her gaze dreamy. She was kind of cute in a doll-like way with her bright blue eyes and whisp of blond hair that fell against her back like a curtain of gold. "And you're Harry."

"Luna," Harry pursed his lips, wondering where he had heard that name. His eyes widerned as the memory hit him. "You're that girl who keeps sprouting nonesense."

The moment the words were out, Harry blushed scarlet and stammered out an apology. Although it was true that people called Luna "Loony" for her tendency to daydream all the time and sprout things that no one can understand, Harry didn't know Luna well enough to ascertain to the truthiness of those accusations. His mother had always taught him to keep an open-mind and this was going against everything she had tried to hammer in to him as a kid.

"No, it's ok," Luna said simply, not at all offended by his words, "I don't mind. It's not people's fault if they are not blessed enough to see the things that I do. Their world must be so boring."

Harry snickered a little at that. Luna's self-confidence was truly a thing to behold.

"Then, how may I help you Luna?" he asked.

"I want to be your friend," Luna said simply.

Harry blinked.

"Why now?" he asked, "Are you trying to approach me because of Tom?"

"No, it's because you need my help," she answered simply, with no signs that she was nervous or lying her ass of. With a start, Harry realized that Luna actually believed what she was saying. She actually believed that Harry was going to need her help.

"Well," he smiled a little uncertainly, but he was certain that Luna's offer was not something he can pass on, "I don't know how you can help me, but we can be friends. I'm sure Hermione would like to have another girl around."

"Ok," Luna said simply before extracting a folded newspaper from her bag. She spread it out on her lap and started doing a crossword puzzle with a quill. Harry blinked at her sudden dismisal and returned to his book.

Life can be so strange sometimes.

* * *

**TBC**

**Thanks again for reading. Your support means a lot. As usual, reviews will be answered through personal messaging so please sign in when you review. **

**See you next time.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: This is a short chapter, for which I am really sorry. I can guarantee that the next one will be longer. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

9.

At exactly half past 9 two days later, Anna Castillo stepped elegantly out of the Headmaster's fireplace, dressed to the nines with her long black hair brought up in a complicated knot. At her arrival, Albus immediately stood up and rushed around his desk to greet her.

"Lady Castillo," he said, shaking her hands warmly, "It's so good to see you again."

Despite their differences of opinion on many things – including her field of study – Albus liked Anna Castillo. She was a strong willed woman with a lot of offer to the world. She was intelligent and proud, but with a tendency to lose sight of everything else when something catches her attention.

"It's nice to see you too Headmaster," Anna replied smoothly and let Dumbledore shake her hands.

"Truth be told Anna," Albus continued after he had invited her to sit down, "I was extremely surprised when I received your letter the other day. I never thought you would have time to visit little old Hogwarts especially now that you have the world at your fingertips. Are you here to see Evan?"

"I am," Anna answered, but something in her tone was telling the Headmaster that that wasn't the entire story. For a moment, his mind went over all the possible reasons for Anna to visit the Castle other than Evan and couldn't come up with one satisfactory enough for his tastes. He sighed internally, willing to let this matter go until he had more information.

"Well," Albus smiled, "Shall I call him down for you? I think he has study hall this morning."

A house elf was sent to fetch Evan and to his surprise, the young man wasn't alone when he arrived at the office 10 minutes later. Tom was with him, trailing after the other man with a disinterested expression on his face.

"Tom," Dumbledore's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the Head Boy, trying to read him. But Tom wasn't a master manipulator for nothing; his face was expressionless as he looked Dumbledore in the eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I ran in to Evan on the way back from the bathroom," he answered, "Since I have a free period, I decided to tag along. Evan didn't seem to mind."

"Of course not," Evan interjected, "Tom, this is my mother Anna Castillo. Mom, this is one of my friends, Tom Riddle."

"A pleasure," Tom said, shaking her hand.

"I'm going to give my mother a tour and then find a place for us to talk," Evan smiled at the Headmaster, "We'll take out leave now."

"Of course," Dumbledore said quickly, "It was nice seeing you again Anna. And boys? Have a nice day."

* * *

"I think he was suspicious," Anna said, taking a seat next to the window. The room they had finally found was a deserted classroom on one of the top floors. With a wave of his wand, Tom had transformed the wooden and rather uncomfortable chairs in to something more suited to a casual conversation between friends.

"Of course he was suspicious," said Evan, "He wouldn't be Dumbledore if he wasn't."

"Evan," said Tom, speaking up for the first time since they had entered the room. Evan turned to look at him, read his expression and sighed.

"Well, I'll be going then," he told the group, as if leaving was all his idea, "Have a good talk."

With a nod towards both parties, he was gone out the door.

Once Tom was sure that the door was closed firmly behind Evan, the Head Boy took out his wand once more and put up some of the most secure wards he knew. By the look on Anna Castillo's face, he had done a good job.

"Thank you for coming Lady Castillo," Tom started once the room was secure enough for his tastes, "I know how busy you are."

"Of course you do," Anna snorted, "So let's cut to the chase; Evan said you had more information on the Hallows. Talk to me."

"First," Tom smirked, "I need you to confirm something for me."

"What about?" she asked, eyes narrowing at him.

"Phoenixes," Tom said simply.

Anna blinked in surprise.

"You wrote an article on them; "The Mysteries of the Death Bird." I found the title rather funny actually, but those blasted White Wizards hadn't appreciated their precious symbol being associated with death."

Anna smiled at that.

"But it's true, isn't it? Phoenixes are imbued with death magic; that's why they can be reborn like they do. It's funny how light wizards still believe that it is a great honor to have a phoenix agree be your familiar; it's not a sign that you are a great wizard; it's just a sign that you have been in contact with death. No one seems to realize that Albus Dumbledore only got Fawkes after he had killed that Dark Lord who had been terrorizing the country for some time. Killing someone leaves a taint on your soul that nothing can erase."

"Ah yes," Tom nodded his head as if he had just thought about it, "You did mention that phoenixes are obsessed with death magic so that's why they are repulsed by wizarding magic most of the time."

"I did," Anna nodded, "But I'm sure you are not here to wax poetry about my work. What do you want Tom?"

"Have you ever heard about a phoenix drunk on a wizard's magic?"

By the derisive look on her face, it was obvious she hadn't even considered that to be a possibility.

"That would only be possible if the person in question was clouded in death magic; and that can only happen if he was dying or has been put under Death's protection as a potential Master of Death."

Tom smirked.

"I thought so as well."

His tone must have triggered some alarm in her head because when Anna turned to him once more, her eyes were huge with disbelief.

"Who," she gasped softly, "How…"

"That is not important," Tom said firmly, refusing to share his secret, "I called you here because I need more information on the Hallows…most importantly, the Elder Wand."

"The Wand to rule them all," Anna frowned, obviously wanting to ask more about Tom's comment, but didn't know how to approach it, "The possession of the Wand can only be transferred by battle; defeating the Wand's old master is the only way to become its new master."

"I heard that anyone who gains ownership of the wand will also see a boost in their magic."

"Yes indeed," Anna nodded, "Once a person becomes the Wand's master, no other wand will do for them. But Tom, no one knows where the Elder Wand is. Rumor has it that it was buried in some grave up north, but when I got there, everything has already been turned upside down."

"I may know who the current master is, but not where the wand is."

"And how in Merlin's name did this person gain possession of this wand?" Anna asked, still a little bit dubious about the whole thing.

"Luck mostly," Tom admitted.

Anna sighed.

"Your story is full of holes," she told him, "But since this is the only lead I had in years, I'll help you out. What do you need?"

"I need to find a way to find the wand if I could find its Master."

"Understood," she said, "But Tom, I really hope you know what you are doing. Death is not something to be trifled with."

"Don't worry," Tom smirked, "I know what I am doing."

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**10.**

**A/N: Thank you for the wonderful reviews, but unfortunately I may be a little slow in answering them. Thank you all for your support. **

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Dumbledore knocked 3 times on the wooden door before a clear "Come in" came from inside the room.

"Albus," Horace Slughorn said in surprise as he took in the sight of the Headmaster on his threshold, "Isn't it a little bit late for a visit?"

"I would have come earlier if you were here Horace," Dumbledore said in a somewhat chiding tone. He had never appreciated his professors leaving school grounds during the academic year and if Horace was to insist upon continuing his little trips to town to stock up on chocolate, he will just have to bear with the Headmaster's disapproving gazes.

"Oh Albus," Horace shook his head, "Must we always do this? Chocolate is my life! And you know how I can't trust anyone to send me any food by owl mail. What if it was intercepted and poisoned by our enemies?"

"Horace, these "enemies" as you called them only exists inside your head."

Horace rolled his eyes and gestured for the Headmaster to sit down opposite him by the fire. Although it wasn't nearly cold enough to justify having a lit fireplace, but Horace had always liked the feel and would put on a fire regardless of the temperature. Another quirk that Albus disapproved of.

"What are you doing here Albus?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I want to talk to you about Tom," Dumbledore said bluntly and watched as Slughorn's shoulders slumped a little against the leather backing of his high chair.

"Well, I do think I will need some alcohol for this."

With a wave of his wand, the other man levitated over a bottle of expensive fire whiskey and poured two glasses of the amber liquid. He handed one of the glasses to the Headmaster, who took it without comment.

"Despite your misgivings about the boy Albus," Slughorn said, "He is not a Dark Lord in the making."

"Yes, yes," Albus said impatiently, "But I want your opinion on his recent decision to send a courtship letter to young Harry."

"Oh yes," Slughorn's eyes widened a little at the reminder, "That was rather surprising, wasn't it?"

"Surprising is such an understatement," Dumbledore sighed, "It came out of nowhere! What could have gone through that boy's head?"

"What about young Potter?" Slughorn questioned, "Do you know why he accepted? He didn't look as if he would have truly welcomed Tom's advances."

"Oh that," Dumbledore waved the concern away with the bat of a hand, "It was obviously to make his sister jealous. That boy is so transparent that it is a wonder that no one in his family saw through his little game."

Slughorn pursed his lips in thought before taking another sip of his drink.

"I can see why you would be…intrigued by this whole affair," he admitted, "Young Tom have a lot to offer to young Harry, but I just couldn't see what young Harry can offer to Tom. Money isn't it since Tom is much better off than the Potters in any case."

"I hope we're not making a big mistake by letting them continue with this farce."

Slughorn snorted at that.

"Albus," he said seriously, "Who do you think we are? It is not our jobs to meddle in the private life of our students."

"That is true," Albus replied, "But the Potters have always been close friends of mine. I would hate to see their son being manipulated for some nefarious means."

"You are one paranoid old man," Horace commented with some resignation in his voice, "If it makes you feel any better, I'll keep an eye out of the Power Couple as the kids are calling it these days. I have extended an invitation to young Harry to attend my traditional beginning-of-the-semester party; maybe I can get more information then."

"Thank you Horace," Albus said and was about to stand up when Slughorn shot out a hand to stop him.

"Just one second Albus," he said, "I still want to ask you something."

"What is it?" Dumbledore replied wearily.

"Is it true," Horace started, "That Anna Castillo was here?"

"Yes," Albus answered easily, "She came to see her son, Evan."

"Oh and I missed her," Horace frowned in disappointment, "That is such a shame. I would have loved to talk to her. Her work regarding the Deathly Hallows is truly amazing. Did Tom get to speak with her? He's a big fan after all. That boy is obsessed with Death magic and the subject of immortality."

"Yes," Dumbledore replied slowly, thoughts suddenly forming in his head, "He did get to speak to her. He was with Evan when they came to pick her up at my office."

"That must be nice," Horace smiled a little wistfully, "I wonder what they talked about."

_I wonder as well_, Albus thought, but didn't say.

"Before meeting Tom, I never thought I would meet someone as obsessed with the Hallows as Anna. Those two would make a terrifying pair if they ever decided to work together."

"So Tom believes that the Deathly Hallows exists?" Albus asked curiously, regaining his seat. Due to Tom's active dislike for his person, the Headmaster's knowledge about the boy's more personal beliefs was practically non-existence. Luckily, Slughorn was there to fill in the void.

"Oh of course he does," Slughorn smiled good-naturedly before freezing.

"Horace?" Albus asked in confusion.

"Now that is a thought," Horace said slowly, eyes going wide.

"What?"

"Is it possible that Tom wanted to get closer to Harry because he wants access to the Potter's famous Cloak of Invisibility?"

Albus' eyes widened as well. He truly hadn't thought about that.

"The Cloak rumored to be the one talked about in the legends; the Cloak crafted by Death itself and gifted to the brothers."

"Surely it can't be," Albus said weakly.

Horace snorted.

"Albus, really. Are you trying to convince me or yourself? You know as well as I do that the Potter's famous Cloak is not normal. After all, no normal Cloak can withstand the test of time for nearly 6 centuries. The best Cloak I have seen on the market today can only last for about a century."

"Even if it is so," Albus interrupted, "James has that Cloak, not Harry."

"Everyone knows that the Cloak is passed down from father to son," Horace replied, waving his concern away.

Albus pursed his lips.

"We'll have to keep an eye on them," he finally said, "But we have to be careful not to be too obvious about it."

"Agreed, old friend," Horace said, raising his glass up in a salute, "Agreed."

* * *

"What do you suppose would go well with this dress?" Hermione asked, holding up two nearly identical necklaces for Harry's benefit, "This one or this one?"

"Hermione," Harry complained. It was a Monday night, two days before the start-of-term party at Slughorn's. "I don't know! They all look the same."

"Now, now," the young woman chided, pursing her lips in thought before discarding the one on the left.

"Hermione," Harry groaned, "Don't you have anyone else to do this with you? I know absolutely nothing about fashion!"

"I want to look good," Hermione protested, "I'm never invited to any social gatherings with people of our own age and now that I am, I don't want to waste this opportunity."

"I can't believe that Malfoy asked you to be his date to Slughorn's event," Harry mumbled to himself. He had never liked Malfoy and didn't trust him to not hurt Hermione in the long run.

"Oh stop it," Hermione said, rolling her eyes, "He's a perfect gentleman, I'll have you know. He's not using me for some plan."

"How do you know that?" Harry objected, "He's a Slytherin."

"And we are Ravenclaws," Hermione interrupted, "We are supposed to use our logic and not let some centuries old feud dictate our decisions."

"I guess you're right," Harry mumbled, "But I still don't trust Tom. People may say he's charming, but sometimes he can be so…smarmy."

Hermione actually laughed at that.

"Smarmy, Harry? I really can't see how that can be applied to Tom Riddle."

"Yeah well," Harry huffed, "I don't really have a lot of words in my arsenal to describe Tom nor do I spend a lot of time trying to come up with new ones."

"Of course not," Hermione allowed, attention returning to her mirror.

"You look fantastic Hermione," Harry tried once more, "Stop worrying so much. I guarantee that you will be the Belle of the Ball."

"I guess," Hermione shrugged, letting her hand fall from her hair, "It's just…I don't know…"

Harry opened his mouth and was about to speak when a knock on the door attracted his attention.

"Now who could that be?" he asked Hermione before he went to open it. To his surprise, Luna Lovegood stood on the other side, this time wearing a hat that was eccentric even by wizarding standards. It was humongous and measured at least a meter; Harry didn't know how it was staying up, but he was sure it involved spells more complicated than those that was currently being taught.

"Hi," Luna said happily.

"Hi," Harry greeted back, eyes still fixated on the…thing…on Luna's head.

"Who is it Harry?" Hermione asked, coming over to check out the new arrival. She stopped short when she caught sight of Luna.

"Ehhh…" she said eloquently.

"Luna," Harry said, managing to recover faster than Hermione, "This is my best friend, Hermione Granger. Hermione, this is Luna Lovegood. She's also in our year."

"It's nice to meet you Hermione," Luna told her, "I'm sorry for your loss."

Harry blinked.

"Luna," he started, "Hermione didn't lose anything. Right Hermione?"

He turned towards the girl, expecting her to back him up and was surprised when Hermione didn't.

"How did you know?" she asked instead.

"You're invaded by Nardles," Luna said cheerfully, "Which means that you've lost something dear to you. Judging by how well you are taking it, it probably isn't a family member."

"Hermione?" Harry asked a little desperately, wanting some order to return to his world.

"Luna's right," Hermione said, "I did lose…something precious."

"Luna's right," Harry muttered incredulously to himself, "That's not something we hear every day."

"Be nice," Hermione chided and invited Luna to come look at her outfits. Harry closed the door to the room, feeling a little bit out of his element. That generally happens after he had a run-in with Luna.

"Luna, what do you think I should wear with this dress?" he heard Hermione ask and couldn't help but wince. Not that he disliked Luna, but he hoped Hermione would think twice before taking any fashion advice from the blond girl.

"What are you doing here Luna?" He couldn't help but ask as he watched Luna take up one of Hermione's high heels and look at it dubiously.

"The Wheels of Fates have finally begun to turn and I'm here as a witness," Luna replied cryptically before abruptly turning to Hermione, "Can I ask how you are expecting to survive a night with these contraptions on your feet? They look like modern torture devices."

As Hermione instructed Luna on the joys of wearing high heels, Harry tried and failed to put Luna's words out of his head.

* * *

**TBC**

Here's food for thought: If Dumbledore has the Heir of Magic prophecy, why isn't he doing more to find the Heir before someone else gets the same idea?


End file.
